weekend shenanigans

Weekend Shenanigans – The One Before All the Christmas Things

I cannot believe that next Monday is Christmas!!! Speaking of Christmas, spam me with your favorite Christmas breakfast recipes and ideas. I am going to make cinnamon rolls for Christmas Eve, but I want to make an extra special breakfast for Christmas and start a new tradition. I am thinking a breakfast casserole or crockpot recipe or something. Clearly I will be spending all week on Pinterest, but I want your suggestions too!

This past weekend was wonderful. Well, until Zoe got sick on Sunday. Luckily she is doing better, but I am working from home today to keep her away from all the germs to be sure!

On Saturday, Chris and I set out to knock out a big chunk of our Christmas shopping that we had left. We went to Bargain Hunt in Irondale and found a ton of good deals and left with a cart full of stuff. I then headed over to The Summit with no clear destination in mind, only to realize that we really needed to be in Hoover instead. A quick jump back on 459 and we were at the Bargain Hunt in Hoover pretty quick. Found a few more things at that one, and then had lunch at J Alexander’s. We shared the spinach queso and I got the Thai Kai salad. We ordered Zoe smashed potatoes and she shared my chicken from my salad with me. She is such a good eater these days!!!

We then walked around 2nd and Charles and then headed back to Trussville. We were on the search for Fingerlings for our nephew all weekend, so we wanted to check out the Walmarts and see if they restocked. No such luck at either that we went to, but I did find some this morning!!!

Chris mentioned that Olive Garden to go sounded like a great idea for dinner, so he ordered it and we hung out at Best Buy until it was time to pick up our food. We had a wonderful day, and it was so much fun Christmas shopping for Zoe and our family. Zoe was so amazing all day, but eventually she was over it. Pretty sure she may get her inability to hide facial expressions from me. At least we will always know where we stand with her?

Sunday we headed out early to get our grocery shopping done. That was when we realized that Zoe really wasn’t feeling well, so we quickly headed back home and hung around the rest of the day watching Christmas movies and snuggling.

Oh, I forgot to mention on Friday when I dropped Zoe off….one of her sweet teachers handed me a bag that had Zoe’s picture on one side where she is wearing reindeer ears and her little tiny hand prints on the other made to look like reindeer. Inside was the most beautiful plate with her foot prints on it. Have I mentioned how much I love her daycare and teachers??? I hate not being there with her 24/7, but I know that when Chris and I aren’t with her, she is getting lots of love. How precious is this???

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!! We are in crunch time for Christmas shopping! Have you finished or are you in the party that waits until the last weekend to go? Linking up with Biana.

December 18, 2017 by Nadine

Friday Favorites

Here there, Friday!!! I am not sure what all we have planned for this weekend. It is basically the last one for us to get any Christmas shopping done, since we have Christmas get togethers starting next Saturday with family. I am hoping we can get the supplies to make a gingerbread house and maybe catch a few more Christmas movies this weekend, along with whatever else we decide to do! Have you finished your shopping?

Favorite Memories:I had lunch with Laura yesterday. We decided on Saigon and I had the hardest time deciding what to order because everything sounded amazing. The spring rolls as an appetizer is always a given, and we had seen a Cider Wassail Slushy on Instagram earlier in the week so we knew that had to be ordered as well! (Cider Wassail slushy: apple cider, rum, cinnamon, ginger, orange juice, simple syrup, & anise.) I finally decided on the B4 pork and noodle bowl with egg rolls and it was soooooo good! We might be going back there again next week because their deliciousness cant be beat.

We are slowly trying to wean Zoe off her bottle. Honestly, her feeding times have been some of my most favorite moments over the last year. The way she will just stare into my eyes sometimes, or hold my hand while she takes her bottle is just the sweetest. I will never forget her gummy crinkled face smile that she gives me sometimes after she is finished. Or the way she she is silly and will hide behind it and giggle like in the picture below. Or how she screams when you take too long to get one together for her. It is bittersweet saying goodbye to these bottles. The ones I have spent hours and hours of my life cleaning over the last year. The ones that have given Zoe all the nutrients.

Favorite Recipe: I mentioned before that I am going to be doing Whole30 again in January. If you are looking for a good reset, please join me!!! I would be happy to share any recipes I have loved or any knowledge doing it the last two years. Anyways, I always struggle with breakfast because I really hate eggs. How amazing does this pumpkin apple bake look???

Favorite Beauty Buy: I had to make a Sephora run this week to get face wash. I need some new lip products, a lot of mine are about empty. I have been dying to try the NARS Rita for a really long time. I always talked myself out of it before, but decided to pull the trigger. I love it!!! This has to be one of the longest lasting lipsticks I have ever used. Plus, the packaging is amazing. The lid is magnetic, so it isn’t falling off in your black hole of a purse….ruining all the things. It is true what they say, it really is the perfect red for any skin tone. Thanks Lindsay for recommending it!

Favorite Funnies:

Linking up with Amanda. Hope you have a fabulous weekend!

December 15, 2017 by Nadine

recipe

Bacon Pasta

Everything is better with bacon, no? Especially pasta!!! This Bacon Pasta was a super quick meal that I whipped up last weekend and we really enjoyed. I think I may change out the bacon with pancetta or prosciutto to change it up from time to time.

What You Need

9-12 strips of bacon

1 box of penne noodles

2 cups of whipping cream

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

optional: green onion, red pepper flakes, shredded Italian cheese

What You Do

Cook pasta according to box.

Fry up the bacon in a pan. Ideally I would have had 11-12 strips of bacon, but alas my pan will only hold 9.

Cut the bacon up in pieces, remove the grease from the pan.

Stir in the pasta, whipping cream, parmesean cheese and black pepper. Simmer until sauce is thickened.

Stir in the bacon and green onions.

I like to top mine with a little Italian cheese and some red pepper flakes if I am feeling a little fiesty.

Enjoy!

December 14, 2017 by Nadine

about me, Christmas

Getting Jolly – Christmas Traditions

Do you guys follow Alexandra? She is the sweetest and has been doing a Live Your Best Life link up the last two months and I have really been trying to incorporate some of her prompts into my life. Well, today she has a Christmas traditions link up. I just love Christmas time and hearing about what other people do for the holidays, so I thought it was the perfect time to link up for some holiday fun!

Growing up, my parents worked hard to give us the best life they could. We didn’t have a ton of money, and at one point my dad was working three jobs to provide for us. My sister and I never knew the difference though, because my parents spoiled us rotten at Christmas!!! There were always so many gifts under the tree, pretty much everything we asked for and then some. My mom always had lots of fun things in our stockings too. We watched all the Christmas movies, and there were several years that my dad really went all out with the outdoor decorations. He even made a custom Grinch scene for our yard. I know that presents and decor isn’t the important meaning of Christmas, but it is what made the season feel extra special to us as kids.

I want to carry on my mom’s tradition of doing fun stockings with my family. My mom always baked a lot of goodies around this time of year, my favorites were her iced sugar cookies. Hers are the absolute best!!! I want to introduce Zoe to that recipe and get in to the habit of making them each season with her. Baking always brings back such fond memories of just being in the kitchen, talking, goofing around, listening to Christmas music.

Another tradition I would like to start next year is the advent calendar. There are so many fun ideas out there for them. I really like the idea of having a little celebration each day leading up to Christmas.

When we lived in Pennsylvania, my parents would drive us past the Overly light display every year. It started out at the Overly house and then it moved to an amusement park one year, and now I think they do it up somewhere big like the fair grounds or something. Anyways, I used to love seeing all the light displays and drinking hot chocolate. I hope to find something like that to do with Zoe next year when she can see better out the car window!

As far as decor in our home goes, I like to keep it fairly simple with a fake tree and clear lights. I am not too big into the colored lights. That is just my preference, nothing wrong with them. I always hang stockings over the fireplace and we have some garland as well. Chris and I love Snoopy, so we have some Snoopy Christmas decorations as well, though I didn’t get it all out this year. I also have a pink Disney Princess tree that my mom bought for me a long time ago that I have now designated as Zoe’s tree. I even had it set up in her nursery for her last year before we welcomed her into the world.

I remember my mom buying us ornaments each year to save for when we were older. It was always whatever we were into at the time. I have Care Bear, Strawberry Shortcake, Rainbow Bright, Smurfs, Blues Clues, Lady and the Tramp, Barbie, Winnie the Pooh, Snoopy, Scooby….so many different things that I was into over the years displayed on my tree now. I plan to do the same thing with Zoe! Last year I bought her a 2016 ornament for her birth year. This year I am on the hunt for the perfect unicorn ornament since that was the theme for her first birthday. I want her to have these special memories every year when she puts up her tree, just like I do.

Each Christmas, we must watch Elf, The Grinch (both the cartoon and the Jim Carrey version), Home Alone, Home Alone 2, The Santa Claus, The Santa Claus 2, A Christmas Story and Bad Santa. I really love Miracle on 31st Street and usually find time to watch that at some point as well. I haven’t always watched Rudolph and Frosty as an adult, but I plan on introducing Zoe to them as well as Frozen.

Hard to believe these were from last year!!!

In the past, we always went to Chris’s parents house on Christmas Eve, his sister’s house Christmas morning for breakfast and my mom’s house Christmas night for dinner. This year we are doing things a little differently and we have moved dinner with my mom to the Saturday before. We also plan to host it at our house this year. I am not quite sure what will be on the menu just yet, but I do plan to make my homemade lasagna.

Sometimes traditions change over the years, and I think that is totally fine. You have to be willing to adapt to different situations. But I firmly believe in keeping at least a few of the same ones alive year after year! So tell me, what is your favorite tradition each year? What is your most fond memory from Christmas when you were a child?

December 13, 2017 by Nadine

book review, books

Books

Linking up with Steph and Jana to share my books for the month. Between being home with a sick Zoe for a week early in the month, and Thanksgiving at the end….I didn’t get nearly enough reading time in. Honestly, I only finished two books. But they were both good ones! So here we go….

Beartown by Fredrik Backman

I feel like I am the last one to read Beartown. I really enjoyed A Man Called Ove, so I was excited to try this one. It took me awhile to get in to, to be honest. People kept saying its about so much more than hockey, and there is a lot of hockey talk. And I feel like you really have to pay attention because they will make references like “there is a man in a sabb” or “there is a mother at the kitchen table” and you might miss which man or mother they were talking about at first if you aren’t 100% focused. However, the deeper I got into the story, the more I was intrigued and then about 60% in I couldn’t put it down. And I will say it, this book is about so much more than hockey.

Bottom Line: I would recommend the book. It was something different and a really good read. It had all the makings of small town politics and sports, lots of dysfunctional family dynamics and imperfect people.

Where’d You Go Bernadette by Maria Semple

This is another that has been on my TBR forever. I feel like it got a lot of hype a few years ago, and usually those are the books that I stay away from for awhile. I completely forgot what it was even supposed to be about until I picked it up. I didn’t really like it at first, but once I was about an hour or two into it….I couldn’t stop. I started getting invested in the characters and needing to know what happened to Bernadette.

Bottom Line: This ended up being an enjoyable read! I felt like it was well written, and once I was settled in to it I was hooked!

Currently Reading

Where We Belong by Emily Giffin

I just started this one, I think I am in Chapter 7 right now and all I can think is….I want to be reading my book! So that is a good sign. What are you reading?

December 12, 2017 by Nadine

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